the authors describe autism spectrum disorder as the failure to individuate. In each of these examples, autism is described as a normal period of development common to all infants, but from which autistic children never emerge. Individuation, which occurs after the autistic period, can only occur on the basis of a problem that the infant must resolve on their own. Failure to individuate also means a failure to develop the abstract attitudethat is, to use and understand symbolic language, as it may be seen in adults with advanced psychosis (Prouty, 1976(Prouty, , 2007. The treatment of autism begins with counseling the person through the individuation process. Carl Rogers's person-centered therapy, which includes affective contact and the opportunity for the person to develop autonomy, is given as an example.
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